Which Airline Industry Polls are We to Believe?

Don’t you just love it when someone outside the industry comes in talking smack while questioning the validity of data?

Well, that’s pretty much what Canada’s national broadcaster did when they published a story earlier this week, calling out Air Canada being named Best Airline in North America at Skytrax’ 2017 World Airline Awards.

Now I don’t know about you, but I’m much more inclined to believe the results of a poll from an organisation that specialises in an industry—as Skytrax does with airlines—than with an organisation that publishes studies on a wide variety of industries—from the automotive, financial and travel industries, to retail, telecom and sports—as J.D. Power does.

And don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying that J.D. Power rankings aren’t legitimate or valid. But Skytrax is the gold standard when it comes to airline reviews and ratings, having introduced the World Airline Rating system in 1999.

Of course, there is the question of the quality of respondents vs. the quantity.

In the Skytrax poll, close to twenty million people cast their votes over a one year period, but anyone could fill out the survey, whether they’ve been on a plane or not. Still, that’s a LOT of people.

Whereas with the J.D. Power survey, there were only 11,000 respondents, also over a one year period. But they must have flown on a major North American carrier in the past year. So who’s right? Which data is more valid?

Does it matter?

We decided to ask a few industry executives, who know a thing or two about airlines and have clocked more than their share of hours on an airplane: Does Air Canada deserve the title of Best Airline in North America?

“We concur with the survey results that Air Canada mainline is the best in North America,” said Brian Robertson, president, Vision Travel, Ontario-West. “Most other carriers are upgrading their inflight experience to get closer to Air Canada’s.”

“Air Canada has been a strong business partner of ours for the last 25 plus years.” said Mike Merrithew, president & CEO at H.I.S. - Merit Travel Inc.

“And not only as a business partner but as a frequent traveller with Air Canada, having flown almost two million miles with them over the last several years and being a super elite status traveller, I can say categorically they are one of the best airlines in the world and have improved their service dramatically at all levels. I would say ‘nothing but a success story’ is how I would describe Air Canada.

“We extend our congratulations to Air Canada on this achievement." said Jacinthe Ladouceur, vice president and general manager, American Express Global Business Travel Canada. "As a longstanding partner and supplier of American Express Global Business Travel, Air Canada helps serve our customers and provide business travellers with a reliable, accommodating and enjoyable experience.”

"All of us at TravelBrands are firm believers that Canada’s aviation industry leads the way in service and reliability,” said Frank Demarinis, president and CEO of TravelBrands. “It was not surprising to any of us that Air Canada received the Skytrax recognition recently and we congratulate Calin Rovinescu, Ben Smith, Duncan Bureau and the entire Air Canada team. It is incredible that four Canadian Airlines ranked in the top ten."

Indeed, in addition to Air Canada, Canadian carriers Porter, WestJet, and Air Transat also ranked top ten in the numbers—seven, eight and nine positions respectively.

Meanwhile, U.S. carriers like Allegiant, Sun Country, Hawaiian, Frontier, Spirit and even mighty United, didn’t make the cut.

Regardless, polls are polls are polls. Some turn in our favor and some don’t. You can please some people but you can’t please others.

The important thing to remember is that every day, there are hard working airline employees at Air Canada and other airlines throughout Canada and around the world who deserve the accolades heaped upon their carrier when being recognized like this.

So instead of trying to knock down the results, CBC, how about we just accept them for what they are and let Air Canada bask in the glory?

What do you think? Is Air Canada deserving of the title Best Airline in North America? Comment below and let us know.

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Toronto-based Brian Simpson is the Editorial Director for TravelPulse Canada. With more than 30 years experience in the Canadian travel industry, including 10 years managing PR and Media Relations at Travelocity.ca, Brian brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to his role.